Feud Between CBS and Time Warner Cable

The two giant companies are facing each other with daggers drawn and now CBS online shows are also blocked for TWC subscribers.A feud between CBS and Time Warner Cable over retransmission fees led to both blocking access to each others content on the web. CBS goes dark for 3 million TWC internet and TV users in LA and NY.

Vendettas over economic issues are hardly new. And when negotiations fail, the concerned parties can turn to revenge as the ultimate tool. CBS and Time Warner Cable had not reached an agreement regarding certain retransmission fees. The end result is that CBS channels have vanished for Time Warner Cable consumers. And the feeling is mutual since CBS has also prevented its users from viewing content from Time Warner Cable on its online site.

In fact, Time Warner Cable users will get to see some negative advertising regarding CBS instead of the usual fare of entertainment and information. And while all is fair in love and war, this tit-for-tat game also goes against the implicit standards of Internet neutrality. It is not exactly against the law yet there is a certain trespassing of boundaries involved.

CBS says it will stop the blockage of its rival’s content provided they reciprocate. Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable has been more or less offended by this and said so in a statement to that effect. The selfsame scenario took place three years ago when News Corp placed an embargo on Hulu viewing for Cablevision consumers.

The retaliatory measures taken in the current cat-and-mouse scenario have left so many viewers high and dry. They pay fees for the services of these cable companies and now their precious dollars are being wasted. All they can do is hope the issue will be resolved soon so that things can finally get back to normal.